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Optical Transimpedance Amplifier Delivers Low-Power Diagnostics

May 28, 2025

TeraSignal's TS9802 Intelligent TIA incorporates diagnostics without a DSP.

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Optical connectivity solutions like linear receive optics (LRO), linear pluggable optics (LPO), near package optics (NPO), and co-packaged optics (CPO) require a built-in amplifier. The latest PAM-4 solutions need a robust transimpedance amplifier (TIA) with built-in diagnostics. TeraSignal's TS9802 delivers this level of functionality.

Ths TS9802 with TSLink builds on TeraSignal's S9801/02 quad 200G PAM-4 linear TIA, adding digital eye monitoring (DEM) and adaptive equalization. It targets higher-density optical interconnects and tight power budgets. The built-in link diagnostics support deployment of low-power 1.6T LRO and LPO modules. It does this without the need to incorporate a DSP, which is the typical alternative that ultimately increases complexity, cost, and power requirements.

The TIA uses 210 mW/channel and leverages a 3.3- and 1.8-V power supplies. The chip employs a differential architecture with "high-linearity and low-noise performance, ensuring excellent crosstalk isolation across four channels." The differential transimpedance gain is 150 Ω to 2.5 kΩ with a 400-mVppd output voltage in automatic-gain-control (AGC) mode.

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William G. Wong | Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF

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